Chapter Text
Lunette was a mistake.
Is a mistake.
She’s heard it all of her life.
She was an accident.
A lapse in judgement.
A living breathing piece of evidence of her Mother’s infidelity.
A dark stain that ruined her Mother’s picture perfect family image.
Lunette is a mistake, and nobody ever let her forget it.
At first, she thought this was just how parents acted, and all that lovely dovey stuff was a fictional product made for television. Ya know, like Dad’s grilling for the neighborhood barbecue. Or Mom’s packing sack lunches, with cute handwritten notes inside.
She thought it was normal to be screamed at. Normal to be yelled at until she was sobbing. To be her Mother and Father’s punching bag; well, step-Father.
Because as he so lovingly liked to remind her, “that Bastard isn’t my Daughter.”
There honestly was a point in her life, when Lunette thought her name was “Bastard.” So much so, that on the first day of Preschool, that’s how she introduced herself. That night, she went without dinner, and was enrolled into a different day care.
After that mistake, she learned to be perfect; to uphold her parents' picture perfect image, and never reflect badly on their reputation.
To survive, she created rules to follow.
- Only speak when spoken to, and when speaking, keep it short, but polite.
- Don’t talk about the things she likes, if so, she’ll be ridiculed.
- Don’t call her step-father, Father. Only address him as Sir in private, and Father in public.
- Don’t want anything, and be grateful for what she does get; because she deserves nothing.
It wasn’t until her seventh birthday, that she realized why her step-father hated her so much. Before, Lunette’s eyes were blue; like her Mother’s. Before then, she thought her step-father was her father. When she woke up and went to get ready, that’s when she noticed it; over night, her irises had gone from pale blue to crimson red. Her sclera s were still white, which made the red pop more.
Lunette was confused, but she liked it; thinking her eyes looked like rubies. Her parents didn’t think so.
She still remembered her Father; step-father screaming. “It’s not enough that you cheated on me! But, you cheated on me with a damned Mutant! At least before, we could pass her off as my kid, but now what are we supposed to do?!”
All Lunette could do was stare, watching them fight, while tears poured down her face. Her Mother didn’t comfort her though, and instead turned all her attention to her Father. Saying that she could fix it, and that no one would need to know. From that day forward, she was forced to wear colored contacts; changing her pretty rubies, to a dull brown.
That was also the day she learned what a Bastard was, and when rule three was created.
3.) Don’t call her step-father, Father. Only address him as Sir in private, and Father in public. She was not his Daughter, and thus wouldn’t be treated like it.
After her birthday, things started to get weird. Sometimes when she was looking in the mirror, she disappeared. Her body was still in the room, but her reflection was gone. Sometimes the invisibility would last a few minutes, and other times it would last hours. Sometimes, technology would glitch when she touched it, sometimes it would work better, and sometimes it completely stopped working. Though the most scary thing was when she teleported. At first, she didn’t notice. Only teleporting a few centimeters, but gradually the distance stretched and stretched; transporting her from one part of her bedroom to another, to halfway through her house.
Lunette was petrified.
She didn’t know what to do, but she knew she couldn’t ask her parents. So, she did what she always did when she was lost; she researched. Using the school and public library computers, she researched and researched.
There she learned about Mutants, and all that encompassed it. She learned about the X-Men, mutant superheroes who defended humanity; and the Brotherhood, Mutants who terrorized humanity. She learned about Genosha, the supposed paradise for all Mutants; but, it honestly sounded too good to be true.
She also learned about those who hated Mutants. With anti-mutant politicians like Robert Kelly, and millionaires like Warren Worthington Jr. who funded them. She learned about anti-mutant hate groups like the Friends of Humanity; and the anti-mutant police, the MRD.
She might not have completely understood her mutation; this power of hers. But, she knew she had to keep it hidden. Her parents didn’t love her, and wouldn’t hesitate to report her to the MRD.
During science class when she was in the second grade, her teacher taught the class about the scientific method; and how it could help us figure things out. So, Lunette started writing all her observations about her mutation in a composition notebook, hoping to figure it out. Though it wasn’t until a science lesson in the fourth grade, that she truly began to understand her mutation. The topic was electromagnetic waves, and all of her abilities fell under the umbrella of them.
She still didn’t fully understand, but she now had a proper hypothesis. Her mutation allowed her to manipulate electromagnetic waves. She could turn invisible, because not all waves are visible to the human eye. She could teleport, because electromagnetic waves traveled through light. Technology was weird with her, because modern technology is powered by electromagnetic waves.
Though, just because she understood her mutation, it didn’t mean she could control it.
But, it was a start. By the time she was ten, she had a whole collection of notebooks about her mutation; she didn’t have the heart to get rid of them, but she constantly worried her parents would find their hiding place. So, they were kept under a floor board, and Lunette prayed that they wouldn’t be found.
Though, there were still things that she didn’t understand; like her parents.
They hated her, something they made obvious; but, they never got rid of her. She knew orphanages existed because of Annie ; and she constantly wondered why she wasn’t a child there.
Maybe it was to keep up appearances?
They, if begrudgingly, provided for her.
They bought her clothes, school supplies, and mostly allowed her to eat. But, other than the bare minimum, they ignored her.
Which, she preferred. She’d take being ignored any day over being hit or yelled at.
They never spoke of her crimson irises, only reminding her to wear her contacts.
They hated her, but they wouldn’t give her up; maybe they couldn't?
Maybe, there was a small part of them that loved her?
At least, a naive part of her hoped so.
They reached their breaking point with her, when she was in the fifth grade. Like most things, she didn’t understand it until it was too late. Her teacher, Mrs. Meyer, asked her to complete special homework packets. Lunette did so, of course; and after she turned them in, she would be asked to skip recess. Instead, she would meet with another teacher, Ms. Reid. Lunette didn’t understand Ms. Reid, but she liked her.
Ms. Reid would ask her all sorts of questions, have her draw pictures, solve puzzles, and play games. At the end of each session, Ms. Reid gave her a Dum-Dum , and told her what a great job she did.
Then during one session, she was surprised with an appearance by her Mother and step-father. At first, she was afraid that they had found out about her powers; instead Ms. Reid was the straw that broke the camel's back.
She explained that she was an educational psychologist, and all of our meetings were to figure out if Lunette had a learning disability. Lunette tuned most of the meeting out, as she couldn’t understand what was happening; but, she caught on to some parts.
“Mr. and Mrs.
Aziz
, I’ve been meeting with your daughter, and she’s…”
“It’s bad enough you cheated on me! And expected me to raise your Bastard! A damned Mutie! But, this is too much! I’m not dealing with a fucking Retard!”
“Luc, please,” her Mother begged. “I can fix this; I can fix her!”
“No! I’m done!” He screamed out, slamming the door shut.
You, little Bitch!” Her Mother cried! “You ruined my life!” She yelled out, grabbing Lunette’s hair, and slamming her to the ground.
“You fucking Retard! God! I shoulda aborted you when I had the chance!”
It took a week for the bruises to fade, before Lunette was allowed to go back to school. When asked, she told Mrs. Meyer and Ms. Reid that she had food poisoning.
From that day forward, a new normal settled over Lunette and her Mother. On the outside, her Mother was perfect. She signed Lunette’s IEPs, sat in on every meeting with her intervention specialist, and played the part of the perfect Mother.
She volunteered, chaperoned fieldtrips, and even baked for PTA bakesales.
At their house, because it wasn’t a home, they were roommates. Though, that’s far too familiar.
They existed.
If Lunette entered a room, her Mother left it. If Lunette spoke to her, her Mother ignored her. If Lunette was hungry, she was allowed to eat, only if she did so alone.
“The sight of you is vomit inducing, and I’m not losing my appetite.”
When Lunette’s clothes were dirty, she was told to figure it out herself. So, she watched YouTube videos on how to operate a washer; taking notes when needed. Then lugged a backpack full of dirty uniforms to the laundromat. She didn’t know that she needed quarters to wash and dry her clothes, but the owner was always kind enough to give her some.
Money was a complicated entity; she was too young to get a job, and she felt bad about using her ability to steal. So, she mustered all the courage she possessed, and asked her Mother.
The ensuing beating, while painful, was worth it. Her Mother agreed to give her an allowance of $100. However, it came with rules. She would only get $100 per month, and that money was to pay for everything she might need. Including food, clothing, school supplies, bus fare, and anything else she might need. But, that also meant that she couldn’t have anything within the apartment.
“Just be glad that I’m letting you keep your room rent-free. You ought to be more grateful.”
Lunette also learned that while it might seem a lot, $100 wasn’t that much. So, she did what she always did.
Research.
Using a composition notebook, she learned how to make the money last a month. It wasn’t easy, but she figured it out. She realized, contrary to what her health teacher said, you actually don’t need three meals a day.
Protein bars, while gross, made the hunger pains go away.
Snacks like trail mix could be stored in her room, and were cheap to buy in bulk.
She learned how to carry toiletries in her backpack, and that it was safer to shower in the locker room. While she wasn’t explicitly forbidden from showering at home, she learned it was best to avoid her Mother.
She figured out that her locker at school made a great pantry, and that bringing food was cheaper than buying lunch. Plus, if she agreed to shelve books, the librarian would let her eat lunch in the library, and let her store her food in her mini fridge.
It took time, but eventually, she figured out how to make it work.
Life wasn’t perfect; far from it. But, Lunette made it work. She wasn’t happy, per say; but, she was content.
And for a mistake like her, that was enough.